Order of the Knights of Chaos
The Order of the Knights of Chaos was a select group of Chaos Warriors founded by Belgaroth. After his descent into evil, Belgaroth founded the knightly order as a service to the Dark Gods. - p.23 The founding may have also been intended to create an elite group of warriors to counter the threat posed by the Lawful Knights of Telak, Belgaroth's former comrades. How he selected each prospective member for initiation is unknown, but each Chaos Knight possessed prowess in combat that was a cut above the average Chaos Warrior. The Knights would have also had leadership abilities, as it was they who were tasked with leading Belgaroth's armies against the Lawful forces of Chivalras IX, then the King of Ruddlestone. The order was itself composed of 13 members, with the 13th member serving as the group's champion. - 229 - 296 Each Knight was clad in heavy plate armour, wielding a savage blade enchanted with dark magic. History of the Order War Against Chivalras IX Riding beneath a banner emblazoned with a metal gauntlet grasping a black sword, the Knights of Chaos fought in Belgaroth's insurrection against the established order of Ruddlestone. However, the tide of war turned against Belgaroth, and he was pushed back to Caer Skaal, his stronghold in the Banarask Hills. The siege of Caer Skaal lasted two weeks, but Belgaroth perished in battle, actually in a field outside of his castle. Whether the Chaos Knights fought on after the death of their master, or whether Belgaroth's death was rather the final culmination of the siege is not clarified. In any case, the siege ended with the destruction of Belgaroth and his Order of Chaos Knights. Second Rising of Belgaroth The Chaos Knights were once more seen a century after their defeat, returning, undead, from the spirit plane. Belgaroth had also returned and had begun amassing forces once again to claim the victory that eluded him so many years ago. This time, a Templar chosen from the Knights of Telak would venture to Caer Skaal, quelling the rise of Chaos and destroying Belgaroth and his knights. Unbeknownst to Belgaroth, Savant, a lawful wizard of Caer Skaal, had successfully formed an incantation that restored harmony wherever Chaos was found, and was deadly to chaotically driven creatures such as the knights. - 70 The Templar learned the incantation and used it against the Knights, with devastating effect. At least half of the twelve knights were destroyed by it, and their champion had already been slain by the Templar outside the gates of Caer Skaal. The remaining members were dispatched in combat by the Knight of Telak. Though Belgaroth appeared unaffected by the chant, he too would be slain by the Templar, who would doubtlessly become a renowned hero for accomplishing what an army might well have failed to do. Appearance of the Knights in the Gamebooks The Knights appear in the gamebook, Knights of Doom. They are only encountered towards the end - the champion is fought when the player approaches Caer Skaal while the Knights are fought when the player enters Belgaroth's throne room. He finds the Knights formed into a circle, eerily silent and still, with Belgaroth at their head. - 129 They advance on the player, who must know Savant's incantation or be destroyed. - 276 He must then best the Knights that survived the incantation in combat, which is itself a tall order. Each knight has high combat stats, and, as a result of their heavy armour and enchanted weapons, takes 1 less stamina point of damage while having a 50% chance of inflicting an extra stamina point of damage. Should he win, the player then faces Belgaroth. Further Notes *Strangely enough, Belgaroth's twelve Chaos Knights have the same combat stats as the Khuddam, the seven lieutenants of Orghuz. *Although Knights of Doom's Background text says that a metal gauntlet holding a black sword is the banner of the Chaos Knights specifically, the book later effectively states that this same emblem is the motif of Belgaroth's Chaos Warriors generally as well. - 48 See Also References